


your hand in mine

by TealDragon



Category: One Piece
Genre: Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2020-09-01
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:46:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26228902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TealDragon/pseuds/TealDragon
Summary: luffy checks up on law after dressrosa, for his own piece of mind
Relationships: Monkey D. Luffy/Trafalgar D. Water Law
Comments: 9
Kudos: 189





	your hand in mine

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first fic!!! please be nice it's rough around the edges and probably ooc I'm sure but I had fun with it
> 
> ty to my gc for being so supportive while I write this <3
> 
> my twit is @tealdragon_

Sitting against the backside of the small house on Flower Hill is where Luffy finds Law after he'd snuck out a few hours earlier. It'd been 3 days since Doflamingo's defeat, and the small group holed up in the generously provided, albeit tiny abode had been gratefully resting and recovering.

Luffy had been sleeping for most of it, but he was aware of Law checking in every now and then, making sure his bandages were okay and such. It was evening now, and Law hadn't come back for the dinner some of the folks from the castle had dropped off yet.

"Oi Torao? What're you doing out here? They have food inside, you'll miss it!" Law starts at his voice. He wasn't facing Luffy to begin with but he quickly turns further away and muffles a sniffle before composing himself.

"I just needed some space." He scrubs his face with his still intact sleeve, finally turning to Luffy. "Your friends aren't the quietest you know. Plus if you've already gotten to it I'm sure there's not much left"

"Shi shi shi, yeah but they banned me from the table after a while." Luffy giggles as he flops down next to Law, sitting as close as he can while being careful of his right side. His injured arm rests awkwardly against his body, and Luffy feels an uneasy pang in his chest as his gaze trails up it, settling on Law's face, on his tired, slightly red rimmed eyes. "Do you want me to leave you alone?" He asks gently.

Law looks a little taken aback at the level of consideration he's offering. He huffs a short laugh, "No, you can stay if you want. Plus you're already sitting."

Luffy carefully reaches down between them, taking Law's limp hand in his own and gently pulling it towards himself. A hitch in the older captain's breathing causes him to pause, to gauge if he was causing him any discomfort. He flicks his eyes up to Law's only to find him watching him curiously, not making any sort of move to stop him, and so Luffy continues his gentle ministrations, happy at the thought that Law was letting him do his own sort of inspection.

He isn't a doctor, he knows he doesn't have the knowledge or know how to measure how serious most injuries are, and in any case he has Chopper for that. But Chopper is far away from them right now (and hopefully out of danger), and in the back of his head he can hear him in his urgent little voice, berating Zoro for the stunt he tried pulling in Little Garden.

_ "You know you'll be lucky if you keep all the feeling in your toes after this! You cut almost all the way down to the bone!" _

Luffy sits there in the fading sunlight with Law's forearm in his lap, softly tracing the bandages wrapped tightly around it, unable to keep himself from mulling over Chopper's strict warning. At the time it hadn't really upset him that Zoro had been injured as such. He did it to himself after all, and above everything Luffy trusted his judgement to do what the situation called for. But this was different.

Someone did this to Law. To Torao. 

His Torao.

Granted, that person was now bound in enough chains to sink them to the bottom of the sea three times over but the thought for some reason didn't help to settle the winding unease Luffy felt deep within his gut. Flashes of the fight from 3 days ago blink rapidly through the forefront of his mind. Seeing Law getting filled with bullets while he stood helpless behind the bars of the Colosseum, making his way back up to the rooftop throne room and finding himself standing in a pool of blood, looking over and seeing Law's armless, seemingly lifeless bod-

"Ah!" 

Law winces beside him, shocking Luffy back into the present. With a start he releases the hold he apparently has on the other man's wrist, completely unaware he was gripping so tight. 

"Shit, sorry, sorry," Luffy mutters, forcing a brief smile and kneading his knuckles into his palms instead, hoping Law doesn't notice the slight shaking of his limbs. He doesn't dare meet his eyes either, instead focusing on the way the grass under his flip flops poked through the rough dirt, still half caught in his thoughts. He’s painfully aware that Law is watching him, and can't ignore the fact that Law hasn't moved his arm out of his lap yet.  _ Maybe he can't?  _ He idly worries.

"What's on your mind Mugiwara-ya?" 

Law's voice is steady, gentle, with not a hint of hurt from Luffy's previous rough treatment. He finally turns his gaze back, not expecting to be met with a look laced with worry. It isn't right,  _ he _ was the one supposed to be worried about Law right now, not the other way around.

Luffy pauses before answering, looking back down at the delicate bandages wrapping the other man's arm. Law doesn't press him for an answer immediately, content with giving him time to gather his thoughts.

He reaches with both hands to, with as little jostling as he can muster, take hold of Law's bandaged one. He brushes his thumb over where the knuckles meet wrappings, idly tracing the faded script letters adorning his digits. It briefly crosses his mind that these are the hands that saved his life two years ago, that spent hours piecing his chest back together in the chaos of escaping Marineford. Would Law still be able to do things like that? He exhales a long sigh through his nose and gently flips the hand so his palm faced up. In lieu of an answer to Law's actual question, he slowly presses against the crook of his curled fingers and asks, "Can you feel it when I do this?"

He doesn't miss the slight pressure he receives in return. "Mostly."

Luffy keeps his eyes trained on the fingers gently curled around this thumb. "Mostly." he repeats back out loud. He starts to move his thumb, drawing small circles into Law's palm. 

"Mugi-"

"Does it hurt?" He turns his head up to look directly at Law now, his voice coming out in a rush, too quick to be a casual concern. His face must be betraying him too, he watches as the older captain's expression shifts from surprise to something more tender, more understanding. 

"Yes," He pauses, considering his next words, "Does that bother you? Everyone has injuries I'm sure are still hurting, you included."

"You almost died," He can feel his eyebrows furrowing, unable to stop the irritation from seeping into his voice, "right in front of me, I could feel it." 

Silence hangs between them for a moment. Faint chatter and laughter from the ragtag group holed up in the far too small house they’re sitting against could be heard drifting through the rickety windows, the warm shadows falling across their still locked hands shifting and lengthening with the setting sun.

"But I didn't."

The words come out solemnly.  _ But he didn't _ . Luffy huffs in annoyance. That’s what he always says himself, isn't it? It all works out, one way or another, much to the irritation of his crew and allies. He shifts uncomfortably, rearranging the way the uneven wooden wall presses into his back, silently wincing as he pulls at some of the stitches in his side a little too hard. Law is right, after all.

It’s not that he doubts his abilities or strength. Law's one of the strongest people he knows but he can't stop replaying parts from the battle in his head. Parts where Law gives it everything he's got and still fall short, parts where if Luffy had been a second too late he might have been-

A hand on his wrist pulls him from his thoughts. Relying on his good arm for the most part, Law silently starts unwrapping a section of the messy bandages covering a deep gash on the younger captain’s arm. 

“Mugiwa-," a pause, "Luffy-ya. Generally with an injury like mine you wouldn't be able to move, let alone feel anything, for months.” Having almost fully undone the bandages, he gently starts rewrapping the cut, pulling them firmer and more neatly than they were done before. Luffy thinks it’s probably unnecessary, but lets Law continue with the gesture, lets him busy his idle hands with his medical instincts while he works through what he wants to say. “The fact I can do both of those things even a little, because you pulled me out, because you and your allies helped me, is nothing short of a miracle. I guess what I’m trying to say is...” he falters as he tucks the edge of the material back in on itself, securing it snugly in place. “....I would have come to Dressrosa eventually, even if we didn’t meet on Punk Hazard when we did, and it’s obvious now what would’ve happened.” 

_ You would have died.  _ Neither of them say it out loud, but it hangs heavy in the air. Luffy shifts his hand, interlocking his fingers with the ones Law is still resting on his thigh. He knows Law tends not to open up to such a degree, doesn’t bear his heart on his sleeve with words spoken aloud despite the heart motif that he holds onto so dearly. He feels a warmth in his chest when the other man gives a slight squeeze of his hand back, signalling that he appreciates the comforting motion instead of pulling away, pulling more in on himself. 

“I’m glad you were with me. Despite everything, I’m glad it turned out this way instead.” Law finishes. 

_ You’re glad you’re still alive after everything _ Luffy thinks. The thought cracks through the unease still clinging to his mood, and a wide grin splits his face. It warms him in a way he can't quite put his finger on, hearing Law admit something as simple as that. In the days leading up to Dressrosa Law spent most of his time on the Sunny withdrawn and tense, keeping an eye on Caesar and going over plans like his life depended on it. Which, Luffy supposes in Law's opinion, it did. 

But watching him now he seemed different. The setting sun filtering through the flower field paints stripes across his relaxed face, the familiar scowl missing for the moment, his eyes closed, head leaning back against the rough wood and just savoring the evening breeze that ruffles through his hair. Peaceful. Like something weighing him down is finally gone. 

Luffy studies him, uncharacteristically reluctant to break the comfortable silence they'd fallen into, his mind wandering back to what Law had previously confessed about his, who was it, Cora-something? His special person. The one Doflamingo murdered. He didn’t understand what Doflamingo and Law were talking about for most of their fight, and if Law didn’t want to talk about it then he didn’t need to. Luffy knew the feeling of someone you loved being taken from you unjustly, enough to know what was driving Law during the battle.

"Are you happy now Torao?"

Law slowly slides his eyes back open, glancing towards Luffy peering at him curiously. He thinks, and the younger man watches patiently as his eyes flick across the horizon of the flower field, temporarily hiding the ruined country and its troubles from their view.

"It's complicated," he says finally. His gaze eventually slides back to Luffy, and a soft smile twitches at the edge of his lips, "but yes, I think so." 

Luffy grins and giggles, feeling a deep contentment with his answer. He pulls Law's hand up to his face, pressing his lips to where the cross tattoo is under his bandages in a motion that could be a kiss if he weren't smiling so widely.

"I like our alliance a lot," he admits, speaking the words into Law's knuckles like it was a secret only meant for them, even though no one else was around to hear it. He hears Law let out a long sigh, and feels him shift, leaning his head down to rest against Luffy's shoulder. 

"Me too." He whispers back. 

\---


End file.
